The Little Mermaid
by Lurkinshdws
Summary: A re-telling of the original fariytale, The Little Mermaid. Warnings: GW/HP, Character Death, AU, fantasy.


**TITLE: The Little Mermaid**

**AUTHOR: **Lurkinshdws

**RATING: **K+/T

**GENRE: **Romance, Tragedy

**WARNING: **GW/HP, Character Death, AU

**DISCLAIMER: **_ I do not own any part of the Harry Potter verse or The Little Mermaid._

_

* * *

_

Once upon a time, in an enchanting castle under the bluest part of the sea, lived a Sea King and his family. The palace was built with the prettiest colored coral and seashells and glowed in brightness, a beckoning force for all the sea creatures.

The littlest child, a mermaid named Ginevra, was by far the prettiest and loveliest of the mermaids of the sea. Her voice was beautiful and the King often boasted that a rainbow formed with her hymns. When the girl sang all the fishes of the sea flocked to her while all oysters showed her their pearls.

Ginevra, despite her lovely voice and the love she received from all the sea creatures, felt as though her place wasn't among the other merpeople. Whenever she sang, her eyes would drift to the light rays that danced across the surface. They served as beacons, and the mermaid felt like her life was to take place on land with the surface-dwelling creatures.

"Oh, how I'd love to go up there and at last see the sky! Everyone says is so pretty, and hear the voices of humans and smell the scent of the flowers!"

Her mother and brothers stopped her each time she rose upwards to the welcoming sun.

You're still too young!" said her mother. "In a year or two, when you're fifteen. Only then will the King let you go up there, like your brothers!" And so Ginevra spent the passing years wishing to see the world of humans, listening to stories, asking questions to satisfy her curiosity.

- - -

Finally her long awaited birthday arrived. The woman-child spent the night before awake, her excitement proving to be too much to overcome. In the morning, her father called her to him and, stroking her long red hair, slipped a lovely sea flower behind her ear.

"There my child! Now you may go to the surface. You'll breathe air and see the blueness of the sky. But remember- it's not our world! We can only watch it from afar and admire! We're children of the sea and have no soul, as the humans do. Be careful and keep away from them; land-dwellers can only bring bad luck!" In a second, Ginevra had kissed her father and was darting smoothly towards the surface of the sea. She swam so fast with flicks of her slender tail that even the fish could not keep up with her.

Suddenly her head broke the surface and Ginevra could feel the waves rock by her. She spent the morning and afternoon stretched out upon a rock not far off, watching the sky and admiring how the clouds and sun moved across the blue surface. Her delight only grew at dusk when the other enchanting colors expanding overhead with white stars shining into sight.

The mermaid sang her delight and seagulls flying answered her songs with their calls. When she turned on her stomach to watch them fly past her, her eyes caught sight of a ship. Surely this was to be a gift from Poseidon to celebrate the anniversary of her birth!

Once past her rock, the human men anchored the ship and lights were lit and brightened. Ginevra thought it made the top part of the ship even more welcoming and longed to be closer. Their voices drifted down and without thought to her Father's words, Ginevra pushed off the rock and back into the water, intending to get closer.

Her hair clung to her shoulders as she pulled herself up the planks. A strange excitement seemed to seize the crew, and she managed to push herself up enough to witness the men shooting up the sky coloured lights into the air.

"Long live the captain! Hurray for his 20th birthday!. Hurray! Hurray . . . many happy returns!" Astonished at all this, the lovely mermaid caught sight of the young man in whose honour the party was being held.

He was tall and dignified, he was smiling happily, and Ginevra could not take her eyes from him. She followed his every movement, fascinated by all that was happening. The party went on, but the sea grew more agitated. Ginevra anxiously realized that the men were soon to be in danger: an icy wind was sweeping the waves, the ink black sky was torn by flashes of lightning, then a terrible storm broke suddenly over the helpless ship.

In vain, Ginevra screamed, "Look out! Beware of the sea," before diving back into the dark waters. But the howling wind carried her words away, and the Poseidon's angry waves swept over the ship. She witnessed from a distance the mast and sails toppling onto the deck, and with a sinister splintering sound, the ship sank. Her eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the sea, managed to capture the sight of the man she had been earlier entranced with as he fell from the deck into the waves.

Quickly, the little mermaid made her way back to the remains of the ship and plunged down, desperate to find the man. His dark coat made it harder to see him, but she managed to catch sight of him as he drifted farther away from the surface.

In an instant, he was swept straight into the mermaid's arms.

The young man was unconscious and the Ginevra fought to keep his head above water in the stormy sea, in an effort to save his life. She clung to him for hours trying to fight the tiredness that was overtaking her from the added weight.

When the storm finally died down, Ginevra was relieved. She could see sand not far off, and she called upon all the strength she had to make it to the shore with her precious cargo.

Aided by the motion of the waves, Ginevra pushed the man's body onto the shore, beyond the water's edge. Unable herself to walk, the mermaid sat wringing her hands, her tail lapped by the rippling water, trying to warm the young captain with her own body. Desperate, she called to him using her voice, something that had always brought others to her before.

Voices came from farther down the beach. She could see running figures, one woman seemingly leading the way if the billows of cloth were to be taken into account. "Come quickly! Quickly!" came the woman's voice in alarm. "There's a man here! Look, I think he's unconscious!"

Ginevra hesitated- surely the man was in good hands among others of his kind.

More voices joined the woman and the mermaid knew it was time to go back into the waters. As she turned, the man's hand tugged hers, and Ginevra watched as green eyes opened blearily.

"Thank you…Thank you . . . for saving my life . . . " he murmured to the lovely unknown lady.

Ginevra smiled before removing her hand from his. The running men and women caught sight of her tail disappearing into the waves as they approached the man.

From the sea, the red haired beauty watched the man she had snatched from the waves stand and turn towards the castle, without knowing that a mermaid had saved his life.

Slowly swimming out to sea, the mermaid felt that there on the beach she had left behind something she could never bring herself to forget. How wonderful those tremendous hours in the storm had been, as she had battled with the elements with the man enclosed in her arms.

And as she swam down towards her father's palace, her brothers came to greet her, anxious and concerned about what had kept her so long on the surface. Ginevra started to tell her story, but suddenly a lump came to her throat and, bursting into tears, she fled to her room. She stayed there for days, refusing to see anyone or to touch food. She knew that the love that had blossomed for the young human was without hope. Ginevra was a mermaid and therefore could never marry a human.

Her father had tried to talk to his daughter once she had emerged, looking ragged and worn. Her mother had swept her into a hug, knowing in the way only women could that love was the problem troubling her youngest. Still, Ginevra floated around the beautiful palace, leaning upon while pillars depressed, and never talking to her family or the other sea-bound creatures.

After much thought, Ginevra realized that only the Witch of the Deep Waters could help her. But the price for the Sea Witch's help was often costly. Regardless, Ginevra decided to seek her out.

". . . so you want to get rid of your fishy tail, do you? I expect you'd like to have a pair of woman's legs, isn't that so?" said the nasty Witch scornfully, from her cave guarded by a giant squid.

"Be warned!" the creature went on. "You will suffer horribly, as though a sword were cutting you apart every time you place your feet on the earth, causing dreadful pain."

"It doesn't matter!" cried Ginevra, tearing running down her cheeks. "As long as I can go back to him, see him, and love him!"

The Witch considered her words. "Very well, child. But in exchange for my spell, know this- you must give me your lovely voice. You'll never be able to utter a word again! And if this man you love marries someone else, you will not be able to turn into a mermaid again. You will die, dissolving back into water like the foams of a wave."

The little mermaid readily agreed, and took the potion after the Witch drew out her voice with a glowing light that encased her.

Smiling in unrestrained happiness, the mermaid made her way to the surface and to the shore. Once upon the sand, Ginevra drank the potion and fell back against the small waves.

- - -

When her awareness returned to her, she could mistily see the face she loved, smiling down at her.

The witch's magic had drawn the human to the beach, just as Ginevra was beginning to stir. There he had stumbled on her, and recalling how he too had once been washed up on the shore, gently laid his cloak over the still body, and swept her into his arms.

"Don't be frightened!" he said quickly. "You're quite safe! Where have you come from?" But Ginevra was now mute and could not reply, so the young man softly stroke her wet cheek and she motioned to her throat.

The loss of her voice seemed sad, but when the man said, "I'll take you to the castle and look after you," Ginevra couldn't find herself to be too upset.

In the days that followed, the mermaid turned human girl started a new life. She wore splendid dresses and often went out on horseback with her love. However, as the Witch had foretold, every movement and each step she took was torture. Ginevra bravely put up with her suffering, glad to be allowed to stay near her beloved human who was the prince of new kingdom she lived in.

And though she could not speak to him, the man whose name was Harry was fond of her and showered kindness on her, to her great joy. However, the young man's heart really belonged to the unknown lady he had seen as he lay on the shore.

Even when he was in the company of Ginevra, fond of her as he was, the unknown lady was always in his thoughts. And the little mermaid, guessing instinctively that she was not his true love, suffered even more in silence.

She often slipped out of the castle at night, and wept at the seashore with the waves brushing against her bare feet. Once she thought she could spy her brothers and friends rise from the water and wave at her, but this made her feel sadder than ever.

- - -

Many days after her arrival, Prince Harry brought her to the docks where a ship was arriving from faraway lands. Among the people of the ship was a lovely woman with dark hair that fell into curls. Ginevra watched as the King of the land greeted the woman with excitement in his eyes.

The following weeks were torture. The King was fond of the new woman and often encouraged his son to spend time with her, leaving Ginevra to her own devices. This made the girl lonelier that ever and she wasn't sure how long she could last this way. Regardless, her love for the prince kept her from returning to her home under the sea.

It wasn't until Prince Harry came upon her crying and clutching her pain filled legs that she realized that her death was approaching. At the sight of her tears, the prince took her into his arms and rocked her, whispering nothings into her ears in hopes of calming the red haired woman down. One of the things that fell from his lips was the announcement of upcoming marriage to the dark haired princess from the faraway lands. Ginevra's tears fell harder as she listened to the man she loved explain how his father had pushed for this marriage, and since the prince had never found the beautiful woman who saved him, he had finally agreed.

The sadness and loneliness built up in her chest before bursting. Ginevra took the man's head into her hands and brought her lips to his in a desperate attempt to get him to realize that his long sought lady was she. Prince Harry had jerked backwards, surprise written across his face before leaving the room swiftly.

The upcoming wedding continued to approach and Ginevra found herself out of ideas. Prince Harry had stopped visiting her, no doubt embarrassed by her wantonness and appalled by her out of conduct behavior. Ginevra mused that a strange woman who had washed up upon the beach was no match for the future king of the lands.

The night before the ceremony found the girl out on the shore. In a desperate attempt to feel like her old self, Ginevra dived into the sea and swan out to an outcrop. She leaned against the rock and turned on her back, watching the stars overhead twinkle.

Ginevra resolved herself to stay here, remembering the Sea Witch's prophesy, and was ready to give up her life and dissolve in the sea. Suddenly she heard a cry from the water and dimly saw her brothers swimming towards her.

"Ginevra! It's us! We've heard all about what happened! Look- do you see this knife? It's magical! The Witch gave it to us- take it and kill the prince before dawn, and you will become a mermaid again and forget all your troubles!"

As though in a trance, Ginevra took the knife and tucked it among the folds of her skirt. She found herself upon the shore without really remembering swimming back, and made her way to the castle.

The prince's room was unguarded, the guards most likely still drunk from the pre-wedding celebration. Ginevra crept in and came to stand over her love.

She gazed into his sleeping face for a long time until the horizon's ray started to wash upon his face. The golden rays awoke her from her trance and she took the knife and cast it out of a nearby window. Returning to the man's side, Ginevra took in his handsome features. His green eyes opened blearily, much like the first time she had seen them up close.

The prince gazed upon the woman in amazement- was this the woman that he had been searching for? By the time he had pushed himself up, Ginevra was gone, sweeping out of his chambers and walking back down to the sea, her first and true home.

She stayed there, resting against the sand as the sun moved across the sky. The wedding was being carried out up in the castle, and Ginevra could feel herself slipping away.

A mysterious force seemed to cradle her body, calling out to her. "Ginevra! Ginevra! Come to us…"

Who are you?" asked the former mermaid, surprised to find she had recovered the use of her voice. "Where am l?"

"You're with us in the sky. We're the fairies of the air! We have no soul as men do, but our task is to help them. We take amongst us only those who have shown kindness to men!"

Greatly touched, Ginevra looked down over the sea towards the prince's castle were he and his bride would remain for the rest of their days, and felt tears spring to her eyes. The fairies of the air whispered to her and danced along beside her, welcoming her to their family, and her tears fell back to the earth, flowers springing up from the drops. Ginevra turned away and smiled at her new family.

* * *

_ Thank you for reading. _

_Lurkinshdws_


End file.
